SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Forecourt Eye will give more than 2,000 UK forecourts free access to a new crime-reporting platform through a partnership with Facewatch. The move comes as unpaid fuel incidents remain above earlier levels and operators report wider retail crime and abuse against staff.

The new system will be added to existing Forecourt Eye tablets used at filling stations, allowing operators to manage fuel theft, shop theft and police reports on one platform.

Forecourt Eye’s analysis of 550 forecourts found unpaid fuel incidents averaged 189 a day in the five months after 28 February, up from 158 a day in the previous five months. Extrapolated across the UK’s 8,350 forecourts, that suggests daily incidents rose from about 2,400 to 2,872.

The estimated volume of fuel involved rose 24% from 87,800 litres to 108,900 litres a day. Its estimated daily value increased 48% from about GBP £131,000 to GBP £194,000, equivalent to roughly GBP £70.7 million a year if the current rate continues.

The figures point to a rising cost burden for operators as pump prices and incident levels increase at the same time. According to Forecourt Eye, unpaid fuel incidents, including drive-offs and declarations of no means of payment, are running 20% above the level seen before fuel prices rose sharply following the conflict in Iran.

Broader Crime

Operators say the problem now extends beyond the pumps. As forecourts have expanded into convenience retailing, they are also dealing with shop theft, intimidation and violence against frontline workers.

Michelle Henchoz, Managing Director of Forecourt Eye, set out the rationale for the tie-up. “Our customers have told us they increasingly want one place to manage everything from unpaid fuel and ANPR intelligence through to shop theft, violence and police reporting. This partnership delivers exactly that while fitting seamlessly into the way they already work. As offending becomes more organised and more sophisticated, operators need joined-up technology that helps them protect both their forecourt and their convenience store.”

Forecourt Eye already provides a tablet-based system that retailers use to handle incidents and recover payments from motorists who say they cannot pay. It also uses automatic number plate recognition technology to flag vehicles linked to previous offending.

From September, customers will receive an additional app on the same devices, giving them access to Facewatch’s crime-management system. Retailers will not need to install live facial recognition cameras to use the reporting platform.

Shared Intelligence

The partnership also links two separate intelligence pools. Forecourt Eye says it holds a private database of more than 300,000 vehicle registrations associated with fuel theft, while Facewatch maintains a national database of retail offenders.

Nick Fisher, Chief Executive of Facewatch, said: “The distinction between fuel crime and retail crime has largely disappeared. Modern forecourts face the same prolific offenders, violence and abuse experienced across the wider retail sector. By combining Forecourt Eye’s expertise on the forecourt with Facewatch’s crime-management capability, we’re giving operators a single platform to prevent crime, manage investigations and help police tackle repeat and violent offenders.”

Operators that choose to add Facewatch’s live facial recognition system will be able to combine number plate recognition on the forecourt with facial recognition inside the shop, creating coverage from a vehicle’s arrival on site to a customer’s departure from the store.

Facewatch says its wider retail network already spans more than 125 retailers across thousands of stores in the UK. Its system generated more than 500,000 real-time alerts of known offenders in 2025.

The Petrol Retailers Association said the change reflects how crime on forecourts has evolved as sites have become mixed fuel and convenience businesses. Staff are increasingly exposed to anger from customers over prices and to repeat offending that mirrors patterns seen across the wider retail sector.

Gordon Balmer, Executive Director of the Petrol Retailers Association, said: “Today’s forecourts are dealing with far more than fuel theft. Our members are reporting increasing levels of abuse and aggression towards colleagues who are simply doing their jobs and have no influence over the price displayed on the forecourt. Crime on Britain’s forecourts no longer begins and ends at the pump. Whether it is unpaid fuel, shop theft, organised crime or unacceptable abuse of staff, operators need joined-up solutions that recognise how these issues increasingly overlap. Bringing together technologies that help retailers prevent crime, manage incidents and support police investigations is a positive step for the industry.”

Ski Yodl Ltd, founded in March 2018, offered ski holiday packages to destinations including the French Alps.

The company’s LinkedIn profile described it as “a collective of ski industry professionals driven to create a customer-centric booking experience with skiing at its core”.

All holiday packages cancelled as Ski Yodl enters liquidation

After eight years, Ski Yodl, based in Norwich, is now set to close, having voluntarily entered liquidation.

A voluntary winding-up order was agreed on July 22, according to The Gazette, with Richard Cacho from RCM Advisory Limited appointed liquidator.

As a result, all package holidays booked through Ski Yodl have been cancelled.

ABTA, one of the UK’s largest travel trade associations, said: “We do not believe that there were any current customer bookings for package holidays at the time of liquidation.

“However, any customers who believe they may be affected should contact ABTA by emailing claimsrequest@abta.co.uk with details of their booking.”

The company also arranged accommodation-only bookings, which were not covered by ABTA protection.

ABTA advised: “Customers that paid by credit or debit card and had accommodation-only bookings will need to contact their card issuer for assistance with obtaining a refund.

“Any customers that paid by other means such as bank transfer will need to register their claim with the liquidator, RCM Advisory Limited, on 01603 331960 or info@rcmadvisory.co.uk.”

Other UK travel companies that have closed in 2026

Several UK travel companies have also ceased trading or entered administration in 2026:

Meanwhile, four UK airlines have fallen into administration or liquidation this year:

• Ascend Airways (liquidation)
• EcoJet Airlines (liquidation)
• Zenith Aviation Limited (administration)
• European Cargo (administration)

Have you booked a holiday with Ski Yodl? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Hoxton Mix has published an analysis of more than 29,000 virtual office and registered address sign-ups, showing that UK industries tend to establish new business presences at different times of year. The data identifies March as the busiest month overall.

The London-based provider examined 29,070 subscriptions recorded between 2017 and May 2026 and grouped businesses across 21 industry sectors by their primary UK Standard Industrial Classification code. The figures suggest there is no single national startup season, with sector patterns differing sharply across the economy.

March produced 2,951 sign-ups and was the peak month for six sectors: Information & Communication, with 892 sign-ups; Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities, with 833; Wholesale & Retail Trade, with 719; Real Estate, with 275; Healthcare, with 125; and Finance, with 107.

That concentration suggests the spring surge was driven mainly by service-led and knowledge-focused parts of the economy. Those sectors account for more than half of the startup activity covered in the analysis.

Different rhythms

Outside March, the pattern becomes more fragmented. May was the annual peak for six further sectors, including Manufacturing, with 127 sign-ups; Transport & Storage, with 101; Agriculture, with 13; Mining & Quarrying, with six; Household Activities, with 24; and Other Service Activities, with 176.

Several industries peaked at other points in the year. Administrative & Support Services reached its highest level in January with 429 sign-ups, while Accommodation & Food Services also peaked that month with 107.

Education and Arts & Recreation followed a different timetable, with both reaching their high point in April. The figures showed 130 sign-ups for Education and 144 for Arts & Recreation in that month.

Construction stood apart from the wider trend, reaching its annual high in August with 228 sign-ups. It was one of the few major sectors not to peak during spring.

Sector timing

The findings point to different operating cycles across industries rather than a single moment when founders are most likely to set up. Businesses tied to project pipelines, seasonal demand or professional services appear to choose different points in the calendar when arranging a registered or virtual office address.

The data is based on subscriptions for virtual offices and registered addresses rather than total UK company incorporations, so it reflects behaviour among firms choosing that type of business presence. Even so, the scale of the dataset offers a view of how timing differs between sectors.

The records span nearly a decade, covering subscription activity from 2017 onwards. Using SIC classifications, Hoxton Mix mapped sign-up volumes against each month of the year to identify recurring peaks.

For information and communication businesses, the numbers suggest spring remains the strongest period for setting up an address presence. Professional services and retail businesses showed a similar pattern, reinforcing March as the busiest point of the year for a large share of service-based activity.

By contrast, January appears to hold more appeal for some operational and customer-facing sectors. Administrative and support services, along with hospitality-related businesses, recorded their highest sign-up levels at the start of the calendar year.

Construction’s August peak marks one of the clearest breaks from that pattern. The timing may reflect the sector’s own commercial cycle, which differs from office-based and consumer-facing businesses.

A brief explanation accompanied the release of the figures.

“New founders often ask when the best time is to start a business, but our data suggests that’s the wrong question. The real question is: when is the best time to start your type of business? Technology founders appear to launch in spring, construction businesses build momentum later in the year and hospitality businesses often favour January. These aren’t random patterns – they reflect the different commercial cycles, customer demand and opportunities within each industry. It’s a reminder that successful founders aren’t simply following the calendar. They’re timing their launch to give themselves the strongest possible start,” said Chris Sees, Chief Executive Officer, Hoxton Mix.